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Plain Talk
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The 5-Minute Social Media Campaign for your Retail Store
by Rick Segel Last weekend, I was meeting with independent retailers at the NW Buyers trade show in Minneapolis. The conversation turned to social media. Here was the question. “How much of our budget do you suggest we spend on social media?” My answer: “$6.95.” (Yes, they were a little perplexed as well.) “Do you mean $6.95 a day?” they asked. “Nope,” I replied, “just $6.95 total. And you can do this entire campaign in 5 minutes.” Do we have your attention? We certainly had theirs. Here is the problem with social media marketing. It’s hard. It’s time-consuming. It has low ROI. “But everyone is doing it” is what I always hear. (I’m not sure I believe that, but I do believe the perception is that everyone is.) Most retailers start out very gung-ho with Twitter or other social media platforms and then drop off quickly – especially when it does not yield immediate results. The truth is, you probably assigned this to one of your younger “hip” employees who spent a lot of time getting it up and running and then left you to work somewhere else and now no one is doing it. I get the fact that the buyers are a new generation and you want to connect with them. I think that part of your strategy is wise. But do this poorly and you will do yourself more harm than if you had no presence. So what do you do? Step one – Using a professional printer (or your professional printer) make a sign that simply says this:
“Tweet, post a pic on Instagram or post a Vine Then have your printer make some coupons for 5% off next purchase. Step Two – Buy a nice picture frame to put the sign in. (I hate acrylic sign holders at the cash wrap.) Step Three – Place the sign next to your register. And place the coupons under the cash wrap. Step Four – Train your staff to know the process. Step Five – Launch your campaign. That's it. 5 minutes of your time and your in in the social media marketing business. What makes this plan so powerful? Let me give you 3 reasons: 1. You just launched a social media campaign for less than the cost of a picture frame and some copies. It might be more if you use a professional printer for your design (which we recommend) but if you are handy graphically, this is a simple sign and coupon to make. 2. It requires no infrastructure, program, software or other investment. Social media campaigns and marketing require that you either buy or rent software in a cloud to monitor and manage. PLUS you have to get your Customers info to speak with them. Even if you use a free service - all of this requires time and you have very little of it. 3. Its TARGETED MARKETING. Think about it. Your Customer just told his or her friends about your store. How many times have you longed for this? Now it’s happening for you every day. Now, that’s exciting. 4. It gives you 100% ROI. You only give out the coupon if they produce the proof. Tell me what marketing program you have right now that guarantees something will happen based on your spend? 5. It's a TESTIMONIAL. What is the most powerful type of marketing? Word-of-mouth. We all know that. So, what type of marketing just happened? You see you did not send out a Tweet hoping to entice people. Your Customer sent out a Tweet bragging about your store. That is true power. Now, to make this idea work, here are a couple of “musts” for you. 1. It MUST be about their experience in your store. You are trying to get the word out that your store is the place to shop – not because of price or selection – but because of the experience. That is a differentiator. Do not accept a “check in” idea. These are not worth anything. Yes, they tell people they were at your store, but they use this to tell people they are at the mall in general. No value there. 2. You MUST see the Tweet, pic or video. Again, its not if you do it, it’s because you did it. It’s simple really; they just send out the Tweet or post the pic on Instagram or a video on Vine while waiting for you to check out. You will be amazed on how some people have so much fun with it. 3. You MUST get your employees on board with the idea. Part of this requires training them about Twitter and Instagram and Vine. Make sure you do this before you launch. None of this was to say that social media marketing is a bad idea. The purpose of this article is to give you a way to get in the game for low cost, little time and get real results. Remember, this is a branding play. So you are not going to see your sales rise 50% because of this idea. Although if you do, please tell us about it.
Rick Segel can be reached at:
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